One Term Presidents : for further reading on this topic This list of presidents, who served only one term, DOES NOT include those who left office for a reason other than losing the election. John Adams, 1797-1801 John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829 Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841 Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857 Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893 William Howard Taft, 1909-1913 Herbert Hoover, 1929-1933 Jimmy Carter, 1977-1981 George H.W. Bush, 1989-1993